8 2 spss assignment 4 comparing means

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Quantitative Data Analysis With SPSS

15 Quantitative Analysis with SPSS: Comparing Means

Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur

In prior chapters, we have discussed how to perform analysis using only discrete variables . In this chapter, we will begin to explore techniques for analyzing relationships between discrete independent variables and continuous dependent variables. In particular, these techniques enable us to compare groups. For example, imagine a college course with 400 people enrolled in it. The professor gives the first exam, and wants to know if majors scored better than non-majors, or if first-year students scored worse than sophomores. The techniques discussed in this chapter permit those sorts of comparisons to be made. First, the chapter will detail descriptive approaches to these comparisons—approaches that let us observe the differences between groups as they appear in our data without performing statistical significance testing. Second, the chapter will explore statistical significance testing for these types of comparisons. Note here that the Split File technique, discussed in the chapter on Data Management , also provides a way to compare groups.

Comparing Means

The most basic way to look at differences between groups is by using the Compare Means command, found by going to Analyze → Compare Means → Means (Alt+A, Alt+M, Alt+M). Put the independent (discrete) variable in the Layer 1 of 1 box and the dependent (continuous) variable in the Dependent List box. Note that while you can use as many independent and dependent variables as you would like in one Compare Means command, Compare Means does not permit for multivariate analysis, so including more variables will just mean more paired analyses (one independent and one dependent variable at a time) will be produced. Under Options, you can select additional statistics to produce; the default is the mean, standard deviation, and number of cases, but other descriptive and explanatory statistics are also available. The options under Style and Bootstrap are beyond the scope of this text. One the Compare Means test is set up, click ok.

The results that appear in the Output window are quite simple: just a table listing the statistics of the dependent variable that were selected (or, if no changes were made, the default statistics as discussed above) for each category or attribute of the independent variable. In this case, we looked at the independent variable SEX and the dependent variable AGEKDBRN to see if there is a difference between the age at which men’s and women’s first child was born.

Table 1, the result of this analysis, shows that the average male respondent had their first child at age 27.27, while the average female respondent had her first child at the age of 24.24, or about a three year difference. The higher standard deviation for men tells us that there is more variation in when men have their first child than there is among women.

The Compare Means command can be used with discrete independent variables with any number of categories, though keep in mind that if the number of respondents in each group becomes too small, means may reflect random variation rather than real differences.

Boxplots provide a way to look at this same type of relationship visually. Like Compare Means, boxplots can be used with discrete independent variables with any number of categories, though the graphs will likely become illegible when the independent variable has more than 10 or so categories. To produce a boxplot, go to Graphs → Legacy Dialogs → Boxplot (Alt+G, Alt+L, Alt+X). Click Define. Then put the discrete independent variable in the Category Axis box and the continuous dependent variable in the Variable box. Under Options it is possible to include missing values to see if those respondents differ from those who did respond, but this option is not usually selected. Other options in the Boxplot dialog generally increase the complexity of the graph in ways that may make it harder to use, so just click OK once your variables are set up.

Figure 3 displays the boxplot that is produced. It shows that the median (the thick black line), the 25th percentile (the bottom of the blue box), the 75th percentile (the top of the blue box), the low end extreme (the ⊥at the bottom of the distribution) and the high end extreme before outliers (the T at the top of the distribution) are all higher for men than women, while the most extreme outlier (the *) is pretty similar for both. Outliers are labeled with their case numbers so they can be located within the dataset. As you can see, the boxplot provides a way to describe the differences between groups visually.

T-Tests For Statistical Significance

But what if we want to know if these differences are statistically significant? That is where T-tests come in. Like the Chi square test, the T test is designed to determine statistical significance, but here, what the test is examining is whether there is a statistically significant difference between the means of two groups. It can only be used to compare two groups, not more than two. There are multiple types of T tests; we will begin here with the independent-samples T test, which is used to compare the means of two groups of different people.

The computation behind the T test involves the standard deviation for each category, the number of observations (or respondents) in each category, and taking the mean value for each category and computing the difference between the means (the mean difference). Like in the case of the Chi square, this produces a calculated T value and degrees of freedom that are then compared to a table of critical values to produce a statistical significance value. While SPSS will display many of the figures computed as part of this process, it produces the significance value itself so there is no need to do any part of the computation by hand.

To produce an independent samples T test, go to go to Analyze → Compare Means → Independent-Samples T Test (Alt+A, Alt+M, Alt+T). Put the continuous dependent variable in the Test Variable(s) box. Note that you can use multiple continuous dependent variables at once, but you will only be looking at differences in each one, one at a time, not at the relationships between them. Then, put the discrete independent variable in the Grouping Variable box. Click the Define Groups button, and specify the numerical values of the two groups you wish to compare [1] —keep in mind that any one T test can only compare two values, not more, so if you have a discrete variable with more than two categories, you will need to perform multiple T tests or choose another method of analysis. [2] In most cases, other options should be left as they are. For our analysis looking at differences in the age a respondent’s first child was born in terms of whether the respondent is male or female, the Independent-Samples T Test dialogs would look as shown in Figure 4. AGEKDBRN is the test variable and SEX is the grouping variable, and under Define Groups, the values of 1 and 2 (the two values of the SEX variable) are entered. If we were using a variable with more than two groups, we would need to select the two groups we were interested in comparing and input the numerical values for just those two groups.

After clicking OK to run the test, the results are produced in the output window. While multiple tables are produced, the ones most important to the analysis are called Group Statistics and Independent Samples Test, and for our analysis of sex and age at the birth of the first child, they are reproduced below as Table 2 and Table 3, respectively.

Table 2 provides the number of respondents in each group (male and female), the mean age at the birth of the first child, the standard deviation, and the standard error of the mean, statistics much like those we produced in the Compare Means analysis above.

Table 3 shows the results of the T test, including the T test result, degrees of freedom, and confidence intervals. There are two rows, one for when equal variances are assumed and one for when equal variances are not assumed. If the significance under “Sig.” is below 0.05, that means we should assume the variances are not equal and proceed with our analysis using the bottom row. If the significance under “Sig.” is 0.05 or above, we should treat the variances as equal and proceed using the top row. Thus, looking further at the top row, we can see the mean difference of 3.023 (which recalls the mean difference from our compare means analysis above) and the significance. Separate significance values are produced for one-sided and two-sided tests, though these are often similar. One-sided tests only look for change in one direction (increase or decrease), while two-sided tests look for any change or difference. Here, we can see both significance values are less than 0.001, so we can conclude that the observed mean difference of 3.023 does represent a statistically significant difference in the age at which men and women have their first child.

There are a number of other types of T tests. For example, the Paired Samples T Test is used when comparing two means from the same group—such as if we wanted to compare the average score on test one to the average score on test two given to the same students. There is also a One-Sample T Test, which permits analysts to compare observed data from a sample to a hypothesized value. For instance, a researcher might record the speed of drivers on a given road and compare that speed to the posted speed limit to see if drivers are going statistically significantly faster. To produce a Paired Samples T Test, go to Analyze → Compare Means → Paired-Samples T Test (Alt+A, Alt+M, Alt+P); the procedure and interpretation is beyond the scope of this text.

To produce a One-Sample T Test, go to Analyze → Compare Means → One-Sample T Test (Alt+A, Alt+M, Alt+S). Put the continuous variable of interest in the Test Variables box (Alt+T) and the comparison value in the Test Value box (Alt+V). In most cases, other options should be left as is. The results will show the sample mean, mean difference (the difference between the sample mean and the test value), and confidence intervals for the difference, as well as statistical significance tests both one-sided and two-sided. If the results are significant, that tells us that there is high likelihood that our sample differs from our predicted value; if the results are not significant, that tells us that any difference between our sample and our predicted value is likely to have occurred by chance, usually because the difference is quite small.

While a detailed discussion of ANOVA —Analysis of Variance—is beyond the scope of this text, it is another type of test that examines relationships between discrete independent variables and continuous dependent variables. Used more often in psychology than in sociology, ANOVA relies on the statistical F test rather than the T test discussed above. It enables analysts to use more than two categories of an independent variable—and to look at multiple independent variables together (including by using interaction effects to look at how two different independent variables together might impact the dependent variable). It also, as its name implies, includes an analysis of differences in variance between groups rather than only comparing means. To produce a simple ANOVA, with just one independent variable in SPSS, go to Analyze → Compare Means → One Way ANOVA (Alt+A, Alt+M, Alt+O); the independent variable in ANOVA is called the “Factor.” You can also use the Compare Means dialog discussed above to produce ANOVA statistics and eta as a measure of association by selecting the checkbox under Options. For more on ANOVA, consult a more advanced methods text or one in the field of psychology or behavioral science.

• Select a discrete independent variable of interest and a continuous dependent variable of interest. Run appropriate descriptive statistics for them both and summarize what you have found.
• Run Compare Means and a Boxplot for your pair of variables and summarize what you have found.
• Select two categories of the independent variable that you wish to compare and determine what the numerical codes for those categories are.
• Run an independent-samples T test comparing those two categories and summarize what you have found. Be sure to discuss both statistical significance and the mean difference.

Media Attributions

• compare means © IBM SPSS is licensed under a All Rights Reserved license
• boxplot dialog © IBM SPSS is licensed under a All Rights Reserved license
• boxplot © IBM SPSS is licensed under a All Rights Reserved license
• independent samples t test dialog © IBM SPSS is licensed under a All Rights Reserved license
• Yes, you will need to check variable view for this first, before proceeding to produce your T-test. ↵
• It is also possible to use a continuous variable for this type of analysis, with the "Cut Point" automatically dividing people into two categories. ↵

A variable measured using categories rather than numbers, including binary/dichotomous, nominal, and ordinal variables.

A statistical test designed to measure differences between groups.

Social Data Analysis Copyright © 2021 by Mikaila Mariel Lemonik Arthur is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Pardon Our Interruption

As you were browsing something about your browser made us think you were a bot. There are a few reasons this might happen:

• You've disabled JavaScript in your web browser.
• You're a power user moving through this website with super-human speed.
• You've disabled cookies in your web browser.
• A third-party browser plugin, such as Ghostery or NoScript, is preventing JavaScript from running. Additional information is available in this support article .

To regain access, please make sure that cookies and JavaScript are enabled before reloading the page.

Provide details on what you need help with along with a budget and time limit. Questions are posted anonymously and can be made 100% private.

Studypool matches you to the best tutor to help you with your question. Our tutors are highly qualified and vetted.

Your matched tutor provides personalized help according to your question details. Payment is made only after you have completed your 1-on-1 session and are satisfied with your session.

• Homework Q&A
• Become a Tutor

All Subjects

Mathematics

Programming

Health & Medical

Engineering

Computer Science

Foreign Languages

Access over 35 million academic & study documents

Snhu psy 510 research methods i spss assignment #4.

Sign up to view the full document!

24/7 Study Help

Stuck on a study question? Our verified tutors can answer all questions, from basic  math  to advanced rocket science !

Similar Documents

working on a study question?

Studypool is powered by Microtutoring TM

Copyright © 2024. Studypool Inc.

Studypool is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university.

Ongoing Conversations

Access over 35 million study documents through the notebank

Get on-demand Q&A study help from verified tutors

Read 1000s of rich book guides covering popular titles

Sign up with Google

Sign up with Facebook

Already have an account? Login

Login with Google

Login with Facebook

Don't have an account? Sign Up

8-2 SPSS Assignment 4: Comparing Means

Working in the SPSS Assignment 4 document, use SPSS to explore scatterplots and correlations. Refer to the tutorial video in the Module Resources and the Discovering Statistics Using IBM Statistics textbook for help with this topic. ASSIGNMENT IS ATTACHEDYou will be using the Food Consumption data set for this assignment. For additional information, please refer to the SPSS Assignments Guidelines and Rubrics PDF document.

Do you need a similar assignment done for you from scratch? We have qualified writers to help you. We assure you an A+ quality paper that is free from plagiarism. Order now for an Amazing Discount! Use Discount Code "Newclient" for a 15% Discount! NB: We do not resell papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

Related posts

Application of derivative 1.

• 8-2 SPSS Assignment 4: Comparing Means

PSY 510 SPSS Assignment 4

Before you begin the assignment:

Review the video tutorial in the Module Eight resources for an overview of comparing means in SPSS.

Download and open the Food Consumption SPSS data set.

An overview of the data set:

This data set presents the results of a hypothetical experiment that examined dieting, food consumption, and mood. In the first session of the experiment, a sample of dieters and non-dieters were given a plate of food from a popular restaurant. The amount of food (in ounces) that they consumed was measured. In addition, their mood was measured. One week later, the same participants were tested again. This time, while they were eating their plate of food, they also watched a funny movie. Researchers again measured food consumption and mood, as well as participants’ feelings about their body and self-esteem. Specifically, the following variables are included:

Subnum: This is the ID number given to track each participant in the experiment.

Dietingstatus: This identifies whether or not the participant self-identified as a dieter. If the participant was not dieting, he or she was coded as a “1”, and if the participant was dieting, he or she was coded as a “2”.

Consumption1: The amount of food (in ounces) eaten at time 1.

Consumption2: The amount of food (in ounces) eaten at time 2.

Mood1: Participants’ mood at time 1. Scale ranged from 1 (negative mood) to 10 (positive mood).

Mood2: Participants’ mood at time 2. Scale ranged from 1 (negative mood) to 10 (positive mood).

Bodyimage: Participants’ self-reported body satisfaction. Scale ranged from 25 (dissatisfied) to 50 (satisfied).

Selfesteem: Participants’ self-esteem rating. Scale ranged from 15 (low self-esteem) to 30 (high self-esteem).

1a) Use the Compare Means function to examine the means for dieters and non-dieters on the Body Image and Self Esteem variables.

Paste relevant output below:

1b) Describe the differences in means that you see.

Type your answer below:

2a) Conduct independet samples t-tests to see if the differences noted above are significant. In other words, conduct two independent samples t-tests, one examining the relationship between Dieting Status and Body Image and one examining the relationship between Dieting Status and Self-Esteem.

Paste your relevant output below (Read carefully: The best way to do this is to select “Copy Special” when copying from the SPSS output. Then select image as a format to copy. When pasting in Word, select Paste Special, choose a picture format, and then resize the image so it fits the screen):

2b) Use the Sig. (2-tailed) column to find the p-values for each test. Based on these p-values, are either of the tests significant? How do you know? Based on the significance of the tests, what would you conclude about te relationship between dieting and body image and the relationship between dieting and self-esteem?

3a) Use SPSSto calculate the means for Consumption1, Consumption2, Mood1, and Mood2.

Paste your relevant output below:

3b) From th means, describe how scores on Consumption and Mood changed from Time 1 to Time 2.

3c) Conduct dependent samples t-tests on the Consumption variables and the Mood variables. In other words, you need to conduct two separate dependent samples t-tests.

Paste your relevant output below (use the same copy/paste technique as in 2a):

3d) Use he Sig. (2-tailed) column to find the p-values for each test. Based on these p-values, are either of the tests significant? How do you know? Based on the significance of the tests, what would you conclude about the changes in consumption and mood?

4a) Describe a research hypothesis (unrelated to the Food Consumption dataset) that could be assessed using a dependnt samples t-test. Be sure to describe your variables.

4b) Enter hypohetical data relevant to your research hypothesis for at least 10 participants. Then, conduct a dependent samples t-test on the data in SPSS.

4c) Describe wether your research hypothesis was supported from the hypothetical data. Be sure to incorporate statistical significance into your answer.

• PSY 510 SPSS Assignments Guidelines and Rubric

Overview: The SPSS assignments in this course provide you with an opportunity to practice using SPSS and working with data.

Prompt: Access the SPSS software on SNHU’s VDI. The data sets required are provided in the VDI for you to access. Complete the appropriate SPSS assignment document. Refer to the video tutorial in the appropriate module resources for specific instruction for working with SPSS for a particular assignment.

Critical Elements Proficient (100%) Needs Improvement (85%) Not Evident (0%) Value

Understanding of Concepts Discusses concepts covered in assignment with no gaps in accuracy or detail on all or most questions

Discusses concepts covered in assignment but with minor gaps in accuracy or detail on all or most questions

Does not discuss concepts covered in assignment on all or most questions/discusses concepts covered in assignment but with major gaps in accuracy or detail on all or most questions

Application of Technology Utilizes SPSS with no errors in procedure on all or most questions

Utilizes SPSS with minor errors in procedure on all or most questions

Utilizes SPSS with major errors in procedure on all or most questions

Analysis of Data Analyzes data with no errors on all or most questions

Analyzes data but with minor errors on all or most questions

Does not analyze data on all or most questions/analyzes data but with major errors on all or most questions

(subnum) (dietingstatus) (consumption1) (consumption2) (mood1) (mood2) (bodyimage) (selfesteem)

1.00 1.00 17.00 23.00 4.00 6.00 45.00 26.00

2.00 1.00 18.00 14.00 5.00 8.00 43.00 21.00

3.00 1.00 20.00 27.00 2.00 4.00 39.00 26.00

4.00 1.00 16.00 24.00 4.00 7.00 47.00 24.00

5.00 1.00 19.00 19.00 7.00 6.00 35.00 28.00

6.00 1.00 15.00 19.00 6.00 5.00 41.00 30.00

7.00 1.00 26.00 31.00 4.00 8.00 40.00 19.00

8.00 1.00 14.00 17.00 7.00 6.00 43.00 23.00

9.00 1.00 19.00 18.00 8.00 9.00 46.00 25.00

10.00 1.00 15.00 25.00 4.00 5.00 44.00 21.00

11.00 1.00 19.00 22.00 2.00 4.00 36.00 25.00

12.00 1.00 18.00 21.00 7.00 6.00 48.00 21.00

13.00 1.00 19.00 17.00 8.00 7.00 44.00 23.00

14.00 1.00 29.00 34.00 5.00 7.00 37.00 22.00

15.00 1.00 14.00 21.00 8.00 10.00 41.00 24.00

16.00 2.00 16.00 19.00 5.00 7.00 41.00 26.00

17.00 2.00 18.00 23.00 8.00 9.00 38.00 15.00

18.00 2.00 18.00 21.00 4.00 4.00 36.00 28.00

19.00 2.00 15.00 17.00 5.00 4.00 35.00 21.00

20.00 2.00 19.00 16.00 7.00 8.00 45.00 22.00

21.00 2.00 15.00 19.00 2.00 5.00 36.00 21.00

22.00 2.00 18.00 23.00 9.00 8.00 32.00 24.00

23.00 2.00 15.00 17.00 6.00 7.00 39.00 24.00

24.00 2.00 17.00 21.00 4.00 6.00 29.00 22.00

25.00 2.00 15.00 18.00 4.00 7.00 37.00 19.00

26.00 2.00 11.00 15.00 6.00 5.00 43.00 22.00

27.00 2.00 9.00 12.00 9.00 10.00 42.00 24.00

28.00 2.00 13.00 14.00 5.00 7.00 36.00 21.00

29.00 2.00 14.00 11.00 3.00 4.00 42.00 21.00

30.00 2.00 12.00 18.00 7.00 8.00 40.00 20.00

Calculate the price of your order

Select your paper details and see how much our professional writing services will cost.

• Formatting (MLA, APA, Chicago, custom, etc.)
• Title page & bibliography
• 24/7 customer support
• Amendments to your paper when they are needed
• Chat with your writer
• 275 word/double-spaced page
• 12 point Arial/Times New Roman
• Double, single, and custom spacing

Our custom human-written papers from top essay writers are always free from plagiarism.

Your data and payment info stay secured every time you get our help from an essay writer.

Your money is safe with us. If your plans change, you can get it sent back to your card.

How it works

• 1 You give us the details Complete a brief order form to tell us what kind of paper you need.
• 2 We find you a top writer One of the best experts in your discipline starts working on your essay.
• 3 You get the paper done Enjoy writing that meets your demands and high academic standards!

Samples from our advanced writers

Check out some essay pieces from our best essay writers before your place an order. They will help you better understand what our service can do for you.

• Analysis (any type) Advantages and Disadvantages of Lowering the Voting Age to Thirteen Undergrad. (yrs 1-2) Political science APA View this sample
• Coursework Leadership Undergrad. (yrs 1-2) Business Studies APA View this sample
• Essay (any type) Is Pardoning Criminals Acceptable? Undergrad. (yrs 1-2) Criminal Justice MLA View this sample

Get your own paper from top experts

Perks of our essay writing service.

We offer more than just hand-crafted papers customized for you. Here are more of our greatest perks.

• Swift delivery Our writing service can deliver your short and urgent papers in just 4 hours!
• Professional touch We find you a pro writer who knows all the ins and outs of your subject.
• Easy order placing/tracking Create a new order and check on its progress at any time in your dashboard.
• Help with any kind of paper Need a PhD thesis, research project, or a two-page essay? For you, we can do it all.
• Experts in 80+ subjects Our pro writers can help you with anything, from nursing to business studies.
• Calculations and code We also do math, write code, and solve problems in 30+ STEM disciplines.

Frequently asked questions

Get instant answers to the questions that students ask most often.

Is there a possibility of plagiarism in my completed order?

We complete each paper from scratch, and in order to make you feel safe regarding its authenticity, we check our content for plagiarism before its delivery. To do that, we use our in-house software, which can find not only copy-pasted fragments, but even paraphrased pieces of text. Unlike popular plagiarism-detection systems, which are used by most universities (e.g. Turnitin.com), we do not report to any public databases—therefore, such checking is safe.

We provide a plagiarism-free guarantee that ensures your paper is always checked for its uniqueness. Please note that it is possible for a writing company to guarantee an absence of plagiarism against open Internet sources and a number of certain databases, but there is no technology (except for  turnitin.com  itself) that could guarantee no plagiarism against all sources that are indexed by turnitin. If you want to be 100% sure of your paper’s originality, we suggest you check it using the WriteCheck service from  turnitin.com  and send us the report.

I received some comments from my teacher. Can you help me with them?

Yes. You can have a free revision during 7 days after you’ve approved the paper. To apply for a free revision, please press the revision request button on your personal order page. You can also apply for another writer to make a revision of your paper, but in such a case, we can ask you for an additional 12 hours, as we might need some time to find another writer to work on your order.

After the 7-day period, free revisions become unavailable, and we will be able to propose only the paid option of a minor or major revision of your paper. These options are mentioned on your personal order page.

How will I receive a completed paper?

Where do i upload files, take your studies to the next level with our experienced specialists.

8-2 SPSS Assignment 4: Comparing Means

Working in the SPSS Assignment 4 document, use SPSS to explore scatterplots and correlations. Refer to the tutorial video in the Module Resources and the Discovering Statistics Using IBM Statistics textbook for help with this topic. ASSIGNMENT IS ATTACHEDYou will be using the Food Consumption data set for this assignment. For additional information, please refer to the SPSS Assignments Guidelines and Rubrics PDF document.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

All the information and papers on Gradetoppers.com website are published in good faith and for research and reference purposes only. We do not allow submitting these papers as it is for academic credit.

PAYMENT METHODS

QUICK LINKS

• Latest Reviews

For any questions, feedback, or comments, we have an ethical customer support team that is always waiting in line for your inquiries.

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +1 (906) 366-6695

Need assignment help? WhatsApp us!

8-2 SPSS Assignment 4: Comparing Means

• Similar Questions
• PROF_ALISTER
• Brilliant Geek
• Prof Nato(PhD)
• Coleen Anderson
• Larry Kelly
• ConsultThanos
• Nightingale
• PROFESSOR DAISY
• Quality Assignments
• Ashley Ellie
• PROFESSOR URGENT
• Sheena A+Easton
• Dr. Michelle_KM
• Brainy Brian
• Composition 1 of unit 3
• The two dominant ideologies of the second half of the nineteenth century were nationalism and socialism. Which of these movements do you think was stronger (in terms of its impact on politics, the economy, culture and the daily life in general) and why?
• OPS571Final_Exam.docx
• MKT 421 Week 3 Individual Assignment Marketing Research Paper
• Data Structure Java Course work i will need help with Files attached below
• Accounting 561
• I need to resolve the problems and I need step by step
• BUS415 W 5 IA Final Examination
• Socialogy Questions
• Forming Questions

Assignment 4

• Applied Sciences
• Architecture and Design
• Business & Finance
• Computer Science
• Engineering
• Environmental science
• Human Resource Management
• Information Systems
• Mathematics
• Political Science
• Social Science
• Liberty University
• New Hampshire University
• Strayer University
• University Of Phoenix
• Walden University
• Homework Answers